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EBR parents and students frustrated with school boards superintendent handling
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BATON ROUGE - Parents expressed frustration with how the vote for East Baton Rouge Schools' new superintendent was handled Thursday. Now, that frustration has even reached some students of schools in the parish as well.
One of the parents who spoke at the board meeting Thursday night is a Baton Rouge stylist named Tonja McMillan. She has a son in East Baton Rouge schools and says she started going to these meetings after her complaints about her son's school were never addressed.
"I feel personally insulted... because my time is valuable and I spent my time going to school board meetings, speaking at school board meetings, emailing my representatives... and at the end of the day, you already had your mind made up," McMillan said.
One complaint she had in the past was that her nine-year-old son's playground had glass in it. Her son brought it up at an EBR school board meeting. She says the board members promised to take care of the problem. It wasn't until another kid cut themselves on the glass that the problem was addressed.
"And I tell people that are supposed to be mandated reporters about some of the emotional and mental abuse that was happening to some of those children and none of them did anything about it. So as of today, those kids have left the district. And this is one of our best schools." McMillan said.
Now, students at schools across Baton Rouge have also begun to speak up. 13-year-old Ashley DaCosta, a student at McKinley Middle Magnet School, says she has seen first-hand bus drivers and teachers not showing up at school.
"I go through multiple teachers because they're getting tired. They go through low pay wages. They're going from paycheck to paycheck and they have to deal with the students? Honestly, I feel bad for them" DaCosta said.
McMillan says that it seems like the school board hears what people are saying but is choosing not to listen.
Multiple parents who have spoken to WBRZ say that if teachers do not show up on the first day of school, they would support their decision. Their reasoning behind the support is they feel like their democratic process has been disrespected by the school board.
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